Representations of Nationhood in the Displays of the National Museums of Kenya (NMK): The Nairobi National Museum

Abstract

Colonialism, with its divide-and-rule tactics, has been blamed for sowing the seeds of ethnicity in Kenya. While it was anticipated that the attainment of political independence in 1963 would herald new leadership with the desire to build a united nation, this was not to be. Instead, each successive regime has further polarized the nation by ensuring that development projects and employment opportunities are largely offered to their ethnic communities and to regions that voted for them. This has made the quest for a Kenyan nationhood untenable. The Kenyan constitution recognizes culture as the foundation of the nation and as the cumulative civilization of the Kenyan people and nation. Therefore, it is expected that culture would be used to cultivate nationhood. This article, thus, discusses the various ways the National Museums of Kenya has used cultural heritage collections and memorial monuments to represent nationhood during the last fifty years.